East End Brewing Blabber & Smoke Rauchbier

I picked up a swing-top bottle of East End Brewing Blabber & Smoke Rauchbier from the brewery to share with friends at our weekly bottle share. The beer pours a golden color with a lofty and frothy white colored head that leaves a few specks of lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of smoke, bacon, barbeque, and charcoal. The taste is smoky and full of flavor. It has bacon, charcoal, and barbeque flavors built on top of a light caramel base beer. The alcohol content is 5.3% ABV. This was a great tasting smoked beer that smelled more smoky than it tasted. As it warmed, the flavors blended even more pleasantly, making for a great drinking experience.

Mission Brewery Dark Seas

I ordered a glass of Mission Brewery Dark Seas, a Russian Imperial Stout, while at Mad Mex in Monroeville. The beer pours a black color with a bubbly tan head. The aroma consists of sweet chocolate, milk, cream, toasted malts, and has hints of coffee. The taste is smooth and chocolaty with a strong toasted malt flavor. A caramel finish with milk and a coffee after taste with a nice dryness round out the flavors. The alcohol content is 10.5% ABV. This was a rather good Russian Imperial Stout with all the right flavors and a good balance. I would definitely order another glass of this if I see it.

Fat Head's Sunshine Daydream Session IPA

Between a wedding and the reception in Pittsburgh, I stopped in to Mad Mex in Monroeville to order a glass of Fat Head’s Sunshine Daydream Session IPA. The beer pours an amber color with a bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of tangerine, lemon, orange, grapefruit, and caramel. The taste is bitter, light, and refreshing with citrus flavors abound. Tangerine,  orange, lemon, and grapefruit make up the citrus flavors before spruce and pine arrive on the finish. All of this is built upon a light caramel background. The alcohol content is 5.0% ABV. If I may, I would call this beer Head Hunter Lite, as it has a very similar flavor profile to Head Hunter without being as high in alcohol content or as intense.

Dixie Brewing Blackened Voodoo Lager

On my last day in New Orleans, I ordered a bottle of Dixie Brewing Blackened Voodoo Lager for brunch. The beer pours a dark amber color with a frothy cream colored head that leaves a moderate lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of chocolate, caramel, and grass. The taste has smoked malts, chocolate, and caramel, and the finish is light and malty with a sweetness to it. The alcohol content is 5.0% ABV. All in all, this is a simple beer but it was also rather delicious with a well rounded flavor and a nice touch of smoke.

Saint Arnold Endeavour IPA

On a second visit to Avenue Pub in New Orleans, I ordered a glass of Saint Arnold Endeavour IPA. The beer pours a brilliant amber color with a frothy white colored head. The aroma is sticky and oily with tangerine, orange, grapefruit, passion fruit, pepper, and caramel. The taste is overly fantastic with lots of citrus, tangerine, ruby red grapefruit, orange, and lemon. Spruce and pepper pop out on the finish. This beer has a great caramel base that provides a backbone but sits in the background where it belongs and allows the citrus hops to shine. The alcohol content is 8.9% ABV. As far as Double IPAs are concerned, this is one of my favorites out there. It was so fresh tasting, sticky and oily, and gave a wide variety of citrus and fruit flavors.

Red Brick Hoplanta

While at Avenue Pub in New Orleans, I ordered a glass of Red Brick Hoplanta. The beer pours an orange amber color with a frothy white colored head. The aroma consists of lemon, tangerine, orange, grass, and pepper. The taste is bitter and citrusy with orange, lemon, and tangerine flavors giving it a nice fruitiness. There is a bitter spruce and peppery bite on the back of the throat, and the after taste leaves spruce linger for quite a while. The alcohol content is 6.7% ABV. I thought this was a rather good IPA with nice citrus flavors, bitter hop bite, and overall nice balance.

Parish Brewing Company Canebreak Wheat

I ordered a draft of Parish Brewing Company Canebreak Wheat while at d.b.a. in New Orleans. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of wheat, lemon, and has a strong sugar presence. The taste is lemon, caramel, cane sugar. The sugar addition makes it nicely sweet before a grassy finish that leaves behind a lingering light tartness in the background.The alcohol content is unknown, but I would estimate it to be about 5.5% ABV. Overall, this is a slightly sweet beer that has some decent balance to it. I would recommend it for the cane sugar flavors alone.

Southern Star Brewery Pine Belt Pale Ale

I ordered a can of Southern Star Brewery Pine Belt Pale Ale while at d.b.a. in New Orleans. The beer poured into a glass, pours a golden color with a frothy off-white colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, toffee, candy, lemon, and pepper. The taste is sweet but bitter with a great caramel and toffee base that stands up to the strong lemon, pine, and pepper accents. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. This was a good and nicely hoppy pale ale that was balanced well due to its solid base.

NOLA Brewing Hurricane Saison

I ordered a glass of NOLA Brewing Hurricane Saison while at d.b.a. in New Orleans. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white head. The aroma consists of lemon, pepper, wheat, grass, and earth. The taste is peppery and spicy with Belgian spice, hints of lemon, but most notably it has a large grass profile. The finish brings out a biscuity flavor. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. This was a really good saison that provide a dry and grassy finish that lingered for quite a while. I would definitely seek out this beer again and was quite impressed with all of the beers that I have tried from NOLA brewing.

Abita Amber

I ordered a glass of Abita Amber while out to dinner at Me’lange in New Orleans. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white colored head. The aroma consists of lemon, caramel, and toffee. The taste is very caramel forward with some toffee and a light lemon hop flavor. A grassy finish balances out the sweetness of the beer. The alcohol content is 4.5% ABV. While this isn’t a beer to seek out, it is a great beer to drink while in New Orleans since it is local. It is a solid tasting beer, but it won’t knock your socks off your feet.

NOLA Brewing Hopitoulas

While out to dinner in New Orleans at Me’lange, I ordered a glass of NOLA Brewing Hopitoulas. The beer pours an orange-tinted gold color with a frothy white head that leaves a lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of orange, tangerine, lemon, and pepper. The taste is bitter and has nice citrus presence including tangerine, orange, lemon, and grapefruit. A peppery finish with a bite on the back of the throat rounds out the beer and works well with the caramel and toffee backbone. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. This was quite a delicious IPA with a strong west coast feel to it. A wide variety of citrus flavors made it extremely enjoyable and it was easy to drink.

Crescent City Brewhouse Red Stallion

While at Crescent City Brewhouse in New Orleans, I noticed that they were known for their Red Stallion, so I decided to order a glass after being disappointed with the Belgian Ale. The beer pours a red-amber color with a frothy white colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, grass, sweet malts, and toffee. The taste starts with caramel before a metallic off-taste takes over. Some grass and light toffee peek through, but the finish almost has a chlorine flavor. I noticed that most of the beers had a similar off-taste. The alcohol content is 5.8% ABV. I absolutely abhorred this beer and would never drink it again. The metallic and chlorine flavors were so off-putting that I barely could finish a glass.